A/N: Nothing much to say, this was supposed to be released a while before Christmas, but things came up :I. Thanks to Musician74 for her quick work with the betaing ^^
The snow outside provided a type of surreal ambiance, one that might be found in fairy tales. A literal winter wonderland was erected; pure white blankets covered the streets nicely, sparkling under the glare of artificial light. The streets glowed, it seemed, as people trudged through the snow, ruining the perfect image. They were bundled up in comical displays of clothes and overly-productive instincts to protect against the cold.
This all became an impossible goal, an unattainable treasure just out of reach. Because, standing under the scrutiny of a buzzing, honey-golden light in near silence was the humble cashier.
Working in a supermarket isn't exactly a dream job, evidenced by the less than ecstatic workers, but it was enough to make ends meet. Something Nodoka Manabe recognizes so easily they may as well be best friends.
She stared at the entrance, appearing anxious to suddenly break into a sprint and enjoy herself in the snow. It wouldn't be proper, it would even indicate a sudden lapse into insanity, but it would be something to break this horrendous routine she has found herself in.
As a result of working day in and out to support her scholastic aspirations, fun was no longer an option in her repertoire, but rather a laughable concept. Nodoka didn't complain, however. She took all of this as calmly and as rationally as any other insane person. Living by herself, she didn't have anyone to depend on and while it was a personal choice, she deeply regretted forgoing her parents' support.
She worked two jobs, one here at the local supermarket where attendance was embarrassingly dwindling, and in the city as a waitress. And while she did that, she attended school regularly and kept up with her grades. At this point, she wasn't exactly sure what she wanted with her life, but it was definitely something better than working here. She wanted to visit Machu Picchu pretty badly.
Nodoka fixed her glasses absentmindedly. She looked around to take in her sights. Cracked floors, rusty, worn-down ceiling tiles, a thick, musky odor had pierced the building clouding everything in its path; beyond any might of any air-freshener.
She stared at the wall in front of her. In her vision alone she knew that there were two hundred fifty four tiles on that single piece of wall. Nodoka was incredibly observant, so, to avoid drifting off to a boredom induced coma she did things to bide her time: usually, she counted things.
There were twenty bars of candy in her lane, nine of them were expired and shoved in the back of the shelf, there were forty packages of gum all ranging from peppermint to tropical pineapple, there were ten magazines that were embarrassingly out of date, and there were four hundred pieces of mint. Some may call it obsessive, Nodoka called it efficiency.
Nodoka was one of the youngest of workers, granted it was out of four employees, but the difference is there. Mio Akiyama was the second youngest. The two didn't socialize well, but Nodoka appreciated her presence. Shame that she wasn't here today. Now Nodoka was forced to spend today counting the ceiling tiles again.
To her surprise, the manager stepped inside. He was a short, stocky man, built like a panda. He had a scrunched up face with greasy facial hair. He had ten individual hairs on his lips. Shaking himself off the snow splattered on the floor, to his indifference and to Nodoka's annoyance. Nodoka noted he wasn't wearing his wedding ring. When he approached Nodoka's lane she also noted that he reeked of alcohol.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes; he was probably at the gentlemen's club, again. He was a lecherous man, Nodoka wasn't an idiot and she knew the types of stares he would give to her when she turned around. The man mumbled a greeting before plodding to his office, leaving Nodoka in silence again.
Even if her boss was a perverted old man, a bit of a conversation would have been nice.
Hello Nodoka, why are you working tonight? It's the holiday season! She imagined he would say.
I need to get as much money as I can, sir. She would respond politely.
Nonsense! You should go home right now and enjoy a warm night with your friends!
Nodoka wondered who, if anyone, was available to hang out with. She wasn't a bitter antisocial, she had friends, but they were pronounced so loosely it splits at the seams. They weren't friends really. They were more like people she knew. She wasn't close enough to cheerfully come to their house, brandishing a bottle of wine in one hand and a bag of snacks in the other. And she doubted they would let her in to begin with.
How would that fare anyways? Nodoka imagined wearing her best, but that was a simple purple sweater and slacks. Her hair wasn't exactly fashionable and was painfully what to do with her glasses? Nodoka refrained from contacts, simply because they weren't worth the effort. Glasses worked just fine and even then, she liked her glasses as well.
She closed her eyes and imagined the warmth of an imaginary home with equally fictional happy friends, ecstatic to see her. The fantasy, albeit terribly optimistic, was nice for a while.
Some time passed, but if inquired, Nodoka wouldn't be able to answer justhowmuch time passed. She heard someone dropping stuff on her little aisle, waiting for her to ring it up. Nodoka snapped to action, mechanically moving with the precision of a surgeon and the apathy of a brick. The items were strange, twenty boxes of lightbulbs, and one chocolate bar. Nodoka figured it was for some aesthetically relevant reason, but they were regular lightbulbs, not Christmas ones.
Looking over her little island she saw a tuft of brown hair, hidden underneath a white and pink hat. Under the hat were two large brown eyes, fixed with concern. Nodoka was, admittedly, surprised to see such concern in those eyes. Until she realized that the woman was staring at the chocolate bar that Nodoka was holding.
She decided to spare the girl any more torment, and rung up the bar before handing it to the costumer. She jumped back slightly, startled, then looked at Nodoka. Her small pudgy face broke out in a perfect smile; brandishing the treat, she chewed it gratefully.
Nodoka couldn't place the woman's age. She was as tall as Nodoka, her body - although drowning underneath heavy coats - looked matured. But her face was so childish and innocent that she looked much younger than she probably was. She had a timeless face, one that made her look forty or sixteen.
"Thank you!" The girl said between bites of chocolate goodness.
Nodoka abstained from responding. It was, after all, her job. She recited how much the girl owed, and she complied, handing her a comical fistful of coins. Nodoka deposited the money, but before she could recite the same old tiresome line; the girl was gone.
The next day came pretty fast. Dragging her unenthusiastic body to work was harder than she had perceived. The snow had piled on more, so she donned a winter coat and a fuzzy-felt hat; she was warm, but of her scarf being wrapped around her neck so comfortably, every breath she took fogged up her glasses. This could easily be resolved by lowering her scarf, or removing her glasses, but it wasn't worth the effort; Nodoka was warm, that's what she wanted.
The automatic doors split open and she walked inside, unsurprised to see the girl from yesterday standing by Nodoka's aisle.
There was something unsettling about the woman, but her worries were washed away when Nodoka realized how comfortable she was around her. Even if the moment was brief, Nodoka felt like she was her long lost friend.
Nodoka didn't bother removing her coat, and instead approached her aisle. The girl looked at Nodoka and smiled.
"I was wondering when you would get here, Nodoka-chan!" She said. Nodoka raised an eyebrow. She wanted to know how this girl knew her name, but before she could ask, the woman continued, "Where's your nametag? Your handwriting is pretty."
She scanned the woman's items. Like yesterday, they were odd and out of the ordinary. A bag of jelly-beans, a whole line of Christmas lights (two dozen individual lights, by the way), and another chocolate bar.
"Ne, Nodoka-chan," the woman said, "Why do you always look so bored here?"
It didn't occur to Nodoka that this woman was strangely speaking with such familiarity, that some may mistake them for being close friends.
Nodoka shrugged.
"There is nothing to do. It is boring here." She explained simply.
The woman pouted, "Ehh? This place has so many interesting things! Like these lights and these tasty candies!" She turned around, looking for more things to impress Nodoka. She pointed to a shelf adjacent to the aisle. There sat cartoonish toys with ugly face, "See! And they have these cute toys!"
"Cute?" Nodoka dead-panned, unaware that she said her thought aloud.
"Mhm, cute." She parroted.
Although speaking like this was technically against the rules, Nodoka didn't mind the conversation. It was a refreshing change of pace from her usual dreary routine. Nodoka, again, recited the total owed and the woman happily complied.
Before she left though, she stripped her bar of chocolate, split it in half and handed the latter piece to Nodoka.
"You should smile more Nodoka-chan. It's a lot better than frowns." She dutifully instructed. Nodoka took her piece of candy and bite into it. The woman stood there, waiting for a response, but Nodoka stood hushed. Unconsciously, Nodoka smiled. It was maybe due to the chocolate, or due to how innocent that girl's smile was.
"See!" She said proudly. Taking a bite of her own chocolate, she grinned blissfully, then turned on her heel to the door. Nodoka was rather awestruck at how concise her train of thought was. It wasn't anything mind-breaking, but simply the advice to smile; nothing more, nothing less.
For once, Nodoka looked forward to work. Mio had inquired as to why Nodoka was grinning all of a sudden.
"Was I really smiling?" Nodoka asked, embarrassed all of a sudden. Mio nodded with a brief smile of her own.
"It wasn't bad. In fact, you have a nice smile Manabe-san," Mio said. But as she said it, her cheeks colored bright pink, "I-I didn't mean it like that. It's just nice to see you smile. Ah, so embarrassing…"
Nodoka smiled at her coworker's embarrassment. Mio had a tendency to react timidly to simple things as if afraid anyone would misconstrue her words.
The conversation, however, ended there. Nodoka didn't explain why she was smiling, or even anything about that strange woman buying even stranger items. It was her safe bubble. In a way, she didn't want reality popping it.
Nodoka went back to her spot. It was Christmas Eve. She looked at the cracked clock on the wall for the time: 11:42 PM. She wondered what everyone else was doing at this time. Having to spend a bland Christmas holed up in a ghost-town of a store wasn't anyone's idea of fun. She looked at her feet and counted the tiles around her within a five centimeter radius. There were thirty six tiles.
It was ten minutes later by the time Nodoka counted ninety four tiles. A twinge of disappointment tugged the back of her mind. She half-expected the girl to show up as usual, but never anticipated that she might also have plans. The girl looked like a sociable person, she probably had a million friends – give or take a few. She didn't at all seem like the type to bother with a supermarket zombie-employee.
With that thought, Nodoka closed her eyes. She rested to the unconventional tone of the clock and to the harmonious hum of defunct heaters.
…
…
"Nodoka-chan, how can you do that?"
She opened her eyes and saw big brown eyes fixed with fascination.
"Do what?" Nodoka asked, unconcerned with how ironically stealthy this excitable girl was.
"Sleep standing up! I wish I could do that, my sister would think I'm so cool. You should teach me that sometime!" She gushed like a naïve child curious about a magician's slight of hand.
"Sure," Nodoka said, a smile tugging at her cheeks, "It isn't as hard as it seems. With enough practice you'll be able to get it."
The girl nodded affirmatively. She piled on her items of purchase for Nodoka to idly scan.
"So," Nodoka started, self-conscious at her weak attempt on conversation, "I thought someone like you would be busy today."
There was a single fuzzy blanket, and six flashlights. She shook her head at Nodoka's question, "Nah, I've been busy with a little project of mine. Although, my sister will probably want me to be home in a bit."
There was a package of plastic forks and knives (a total of six forks and four knives). "You probably don't want to worry your sister then." Nodoka said.
In an odd display, she removed her fuzzy hat to reveal a messy display of chocolate brown hair. It was static-y and disheveled, completely matching her personality. There was one humble piece of cake, white as the driven snow frosting with a creamy, milky center. A single strawberry sat on top as the entire amassment of heavenly goodness rested in a clear container.
"I won't, I won't," she promised, "As soon as my project is done, I'll head home to show her what I did."
"Oh, sounds interesting then." Nodoka tallied up the total, but before she could recite it, the girl was doing something strange. She pressed her cheeks together with her hands and pursed her lips; akin to fish, if fishes could ever look so cute.
"Nodokaaa! You're supposed to say, 'I want to see your project'!" She crossed her arms and sulked.
Taken back, Nodoka was lost for words.
"What? But, you don't even know me." She tried to refute.
"You're Nodoka Manabe, twenty-one, you are majoring in Psychology and currently live alone." She said proudly, to Nodoka's fear.
"How do you know all of this? I don't even know your name."
"Yui Hirasawa, twenty-one. I thought you and I were friends Nodoka-chan." Yui declaimed tearfully. Nodoka felt trapped, guilt enclosed on her throat.
"I have some classes with you Nodoka-chan," Yui explained, her tears suddenly disappearing, "You always look so serious, you should really learn how to smile some more."
Suddenly it dawned on her. She was so attentive to her own necessities that she didn't even notice a classmate in front of her. She felt an odd sense of guilt, fear, and happiness.
"Ne, what do I owe you?" Yui asked.
Nodoka told her.
Yui handed her another fist full of coins, grabbed her bag, and Nodoka's hand.
"Come on! I need to show you my project!" Yui exclaimed, tone drowning with glee and child-like excitement. Nodoka couldn't refuse, even though Yui's grip was a bit weak and Nodoka could easily pull back. She found herself drawn to wherever Yui was kidnapping her to.
They ran out the store and the freezing wind felt bitter against Nodoka's face. She was still outfitted in her uniform and obviously unprotected, yet she felt compelled to followYui. Running across the street – narrowly avoiding some cars and one disgruntled cyclist – Yui escorted Nodoka to a park. Five more minutes of running through slush and ice alike, they were so deep into the park that the city lights couldn't reach them. The hum of the metropolis still audibly assaulted Nodoka's ears, but otherwise, it felt like they were completely alone.
In spite of the million of stars hovering above and the pale moonlight, Nodoka couldn't see very well. Yui was the navigator at this point, since she kept moving without hesitation. Nodoka kept her grip on Yui's hand tightly.
Soon, Yui stopped. Nodoka nearly bumped into her, but Yui released Nodoka's hand and walked forward. It took a while for Nodoka's eyes to adjust, but Yui was standing in front of a large tree. There was nothing particularly interesting about this tree in comparison to the miniature forest crowding around them, but Yui kept pacing around the tree; searching for something.
"Ah! Here it is!" Yui suddenly exclaimed from behind the tree. After some fumbling, Nodoka heard a switch and the buzz of what sounded like a fan. Then, the tree lit up.
The dull glow of pale yellow lights hugged the tree branches. They were all assorted randomly it seemed. As some branches were completely lit up with lights and others were left in the dark. Then a line of multiple red and green lights came afterward, all scaling the tree like a particularly flamboyant snake. All of this combined made the tree light up like a weak Christmas tree. The lights weren't overshadowed by annoying light pollution from the city and stood out; it was beautiful in a simple fashion. Yui stood at the base of the tree with a bright smile and a small machine that shook epileptically as dozens of wires and cables were hooked up to it: a small generator.
"Pretty, right?" Yui asked.
"Yes, it is…" Nodoka muttered in a daze. Yui jogged toward Nodoka and held her hands, then after close examination; noticed that Nodoka's hands were bright pink.
Yui removed her gloves and gave them to Nodoka, "Here, you might get sick."
Nodoka would've quipped that she was dragged out here wearing a simple uniform so getting sick was a trivial worry, but she noticed that Yui's hands were scratched up with few bandages covering them up.
"Don't tell me you spent all that time doing all of this?" Nodoka asked.
Yui nodded, to her chagrin, "Yep!"
Nodoka donned the gloves, weary from all of this excitement. Yui then took Nodoka's hands and dragged her closer to the tree. Once they were at an appropriate distance, Yui sat down, motioning Nodoka to do the same. They sat together. Yui threw a blanket over both of them and took out the strawberry cake, handing an unnecessary – yet complimentary – bundle of forks and knives.
No questions were asked. Nodoka gratefully took a piece of the cake, and the two ate in front of a bizarrely bright Christmas tree. It was peaceful and fun, until Nodoka took the strawberry to Yui's dismay.